Middle Harbour Creek Loop

This walk explores the upper reaches of Middle Harbour Creek, starting and ending at the great parklands at Davidson Park, in Garigal National Park. There are plenty of nice spots along the way to rest and enjoy the views. There are several sandstone overhangs, plenty of water views and most of the walk enjoys shade from the surrounding bushland. This walk is graded so high because of a tricky creek crossing (Rocky Creek) and the faint section of track afterwards.* This walk passes through very remote areas and sections have no visible track. At least one person in your group should have training and experience in off track walking and navigation. Even with these notes and a GPS these extra skills and equipment are required.

Davidson picnic area

Davidson Picnic Area is in Garigal National Park, under Roseville Bridge (access via Warringah Road, south bound lanes, or via many walking tracks in the area). The picnic area has a boat ramp, wheelchair-accessible toilets, large open grassy areas, picnic tables, free electric BBQ’s, and a large rotunda. There are plenty of shady spots provided by the trees. The northern section of the picnic area has a small beach swimming area, and the southern section boasts a boat ramp. The park is open 6am to 8pm (6:30pm outside daylight savings time). Ticket machines are provided to pay the car access fee.

(0km) Int of the Lyrebird Track and end of Davidson Park driveway → Int of Lyrebird and Carroll Creek tracks

2.7 km

48 mins

54m

-46m

Moderate track

From the gate at the north-western corner of Davidson Park, this walk follows the ‘Lyrebird Track’ sign through the metal gate and along the service trail, heading through the bush and following Middle Harbour Creek for a while before the track narrows to a bush track at a long grassy clearing.Continue straight: From the clearing at the end of the management trail, this walk continues along the bush track, keeping Middle Harbour Creek on the left as it meanders along the water’s edge for a while. The track climbs up the side of the hill, then flattens out and continues through the bush, steadily winding down to the edge of Carroll Creek, which it follows for a while before the track comes down to the signposted intersection of the ‘Carroll Creek Track’ at the stepping stones.

Moderate track

Veer left: From the intersection, this walk crosses Carroll Creek at the stepping stones and continues along the bush track, passing the “Governor Phillip Walk” sign as the track bends to the left. This walk winds through the bush alongside Carrol Creek before steadily climbing up the rocky hill to the right for a little while. The track then drops back down to the edge of Middle Harbour Creek, which it follows as the walk undulates along the rocky bush track for a while, before crossing under a large pipe bridge to the end of an asphalt service trail.

Pipeline

This pipeline is unearthed at Hunter Street, St Ives, and travels through Garigal National Park, across Middle Harbour Creek to John Oxley Drive, Sorlie. The pipe carries water under pressure From Ryde to Pymble to the reservoir at Beacon Hill. The old smaller-capacity pipe can still be seen running parallel to the larger pipe.

Moderate track

Veer left: From the intersection, this walk follows the ‘Bungaroo Track (450m)’ sign, keeping Middle Harbour Creek to the left. The bush track makes its way upstream following the main creek, but crossing a few small gullies along the way. The track then comes an intersection with a signpost ‘Bungaroo Track’ and stepping stones across the creek, clearly visable on the left.

Bungaroo

Governor Arthur Phillip (first governor of NSW) described this section of the river as where “the flowing of the tide ceased”. Phillip and his party of nine camped here in 1788 whilst looking for land suitable for farming. John White (Surgeon General) described the the area as “the most desert, wild and solitary seclusion that the imagination can form any idea of”. Over the past 200 years the river has changed, but somewhere not far upstream of the stepping stone is Bungaroo. More info.

Moderate track

Turn left: From the intersection, the walk follows the ‘Bungaroo Track’ sign down the hill and across the creek at the large steppingstones (not safe to cross if steppingstones covered in water). This walk continues along the bush track on the other side, as it bends around to the left and continues through the thick bush and around some boulders, keeping Middle Harbour Creek a short distance through the bush to the left, until it comes to the intersection with a bush track heading up some wooden steps on the right.Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk follows the bush track, with the ground sloping up to the right, through the bush to a grassy clearing at the waters edge. From here, it continues along the track, winding back through the thick bush, keeping the creek on the left as it winds along to the intersection of the Pipeline Track, at the end of the pipe bridge.

Experienced only

Continue straight: From the end of the management trail, this walk heads down towards the creek and turns right, continuing under the large pipeline bridge. The track heads up and around the end of the smaller pipeline, coming to a less distinct track. The walk follows a very faint track, winding around for a little while until coming down to the edge of Rocky Creek, where there is a wire spanning the water. This walk crosses Rocky Creek and continues up through the bush, climbing steeply for a short distance before flattening out. Soon, the junction of Rocky Creek with Middle Harbour Creek comes into view, and the track bends to the right to follow Middle Harbour Creek. The rocky track undulates along the side of the hill for a long while, until coming to the intersection with a bush track (up the steep rocky hill on the right).

Moderate track

Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk follows the rocky bush track, keeping Middle Harbour Creek on the left. The track undulates along the side of the hill for a while, then drops down to the wide creek. The walk passes through a mangrove clearing and crosses a smaller creek, continuing along the other side. The track then climbs steeply up a rock outcrop and continues along the side of the hill for a while, before heading over the hill and along the narrow bush track, with ground sloping up to the right and running parallel with Gordon Creek (on the left). The track heads through the dense forest, then climbs a set of wooden steps, coming to the end of a management trail at a pipe bridge.

Moderate track

Turn left: From the intersection, this walk follows the bush track, with the pipe bridge and valley on the left. The track heads through the bush for a short while before climbing steadily up the hill, then flattening out again for a while, coming to the signposted intersection with the ‘Gordon Creek Track’.

Moderate track

Turn left: From the intersection, this walk follows the ‘Two Creeks Track’ arrow down the wooden steps. The walk continues along the bush track as it winds down the hill, dropping down behind a rock platform and continuing down the steps. At the bottom, the track crosses Gordon Creek at the large stepping stones and continues up the short set of steps to a bush track, which it follows for a short distance before climbing a long set of wooden steps to the signposted intersection with the ‘Two Creeks Track’.

Easy track

Turn left: From the intersection, this walk follows the service trail (with the ground sloping up to the right), heading through the bush to the large water pipeline that crosses Gordon Creek a short while later.

(8.73km) Gordon Creek Pipebridge → End of Gordon Creek service trail

110 m

3 mins

12m

-1m

Moderate track

Continue straight: From the pipe bridge, this walk follows the service trail (with the ground sloping up to the right) as it heads through the bush for a short while before it comes to a clearing at the end of the trail, at some rock steps.

(8.84km) End of Gordon Creek service trail → Western end of Two Creeks detour

100 m

2 mins

10m

0m

Moderate track

Veer left: From the end of the service trail, this walk follows the bush track, climbing up the rock steps to the top where it flattens out a little. The track continues up the long gentle hill for a little while, with the valley down to the left, until coming to the intersection with the defined bush track on the right.

(8.94km) Western end of Two Creeks detour → Eastern end of Two Creeks detour

220 m

6 mins

20m

-11m

Moderate track

Turn sharp right: From the intersection, this walk follows the bush track, climbing up the steep rock steps until the track flattens out and turns left. The walk continues along the side of the hill for a short while, before dropping down some steps cut into a rock outcrop. The track then continues through the bush for a while before coming down to the intersection of the Two Creeks bush track.

(9.16km) Eastern end of Two Creeks detour → Int of Two Creeks and Wellington Road tracks

1.1 km

25 mins

40m

-78m

Moderate track

Turn right: From the intersection, this walk follows the bush track (with the ground sloping up to the right) as it heads through the trees and along the side of the hill. The track passes a ‘Garigal National Park’ sign while bending around to follow the Middle Harbour Creek. The walk continues through the bush for a while until it crosses a long wooden walkway to the intersection of the ‘to Wellington Road’ bush track, at the wooden steps on the right.

(10.3km) Int of Two Creeks and Wellington Road tracks → Int of Two Creeks and Carlyle Road tracks

880 m

18 mins

32m

-28m

Moderate track

Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk follows the bush track (keeping Middle Harbour Creek on the left) as it heads through the ferns and around some mangroves (down to the left). After a little while,the track bends to the right and following Moores Creek, heading along the side of the hill and under a shallow rock overhang and passing an old stone chair. The walk crosses a short wooden bridge and follows the wide bush track as it continues along the side of the hill, until it comes to the signposted intersection with the ‘Carlyle Road’ bush track at the next wooden bridge, near another stone chair.

(11.18km) Int of Two Creeks and Carlyle Road tracks → Int of Two Creeks and Ormonde Road tracks

880 m

20 mins

46m

-46m

Moderate track

Turn left: From the intersection, this walk heads across the wooden bridge and follows the track through the bush and along the side of the hill. After a while, the track bends around to the right and follows the wide Middle Harbour Creek, with Davidson Park across on the other side. The track continues along the side of the hill above Middle Harbour Creek for a while, before coming to the signposted intersection of the ‘Ormonde Road 200m’ track, uphill on the right.

(12.06km) Int of Two Creeks and Ormonde Road tracks → End of Ormonde Road Track

150 m

6 mins

34m

-1m

Moderate track

Turn sharp right: From the intersection, the walk follows the ‘Ormonde Road 200m’ arrow up the steep rocky hill. The walk flattens out and continues to the end of Ormonde Rd.

Moderate track

Veer left: From the intersection, the walk follows Ormonde Rd up the hill (passing Chase Ave, Cardigan Rd and The Kingsway), passing the off-ramp from Warringah Rd, then turning right at the Warringah Rd on-ramp (just before the bridge over Warringah Rd). The walk follows the grassy strip at the left hand edge of the on-ramp, as it loops around under the bridge. The walk continues down the hill following the very narrow verge on the left-hand side of Warringah Rd until reaching an intersection with a concrete footpath (which goes down the hill to the left, closed at the time of writing), just before the Roseville Bridge.Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk follows the footpath on the left-hand side of Warringah Rd and crosses the long Roseville Bridge. The walk continues up the hill before turning sharply to the left and following the off-ramp road down the hill. After crossing under the Roseville Bridge the walk arrives at the intersection with the Davidson Park driveway.

(13.96km) Int of Davidson Park Driveway and Warringah Road on-ramp → Int of the Lyrebird Track and end of Davidson Park Driveway

1.1 km

20 mins

15m

-17m

Very easy

Turn right: From the intersection, this walk follows the Davidson Park driveway, crossing under Roseville Bridge with Middle Harbour Creek on the left. The walk passes a small car park and bends to the right, winding around the large picnic areas (on the left), passing a building with some toilets (also on the left), and continuing along for a little while before coming to the signposted intersection of the Rotary Rotunda footpath.Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk follows the road, keeping the park and Middle Harbour on the left. After a little while, this walk comes to the signposted intersection at the bottom of the ‘Casuarina Stairway’, uphill on the right.Continue straight: From the intersection at the bottom of the ‘Casuarina Stairway’, this walk follows the driveway, keeping the park and Middle Harbour Creek on the left. The walk heads along for little while before coming to the end of the driveway, at the signposted start of the ‘Lyre Bird Track 4km’.

Maps for the Middle Harbour Creek Loop walk

You can download the PDF for this walk to print a map.These maps below cover the walk and the wider area around the walk, they are worth carrying for safety reasons.

Analysis and summary of the altitude variation on the Middle Harbour Creek Loop

Overview of this walks grade – based on the AS 2156.1 – 2001

Under this standard, a walk is graded based on the most difficult section of the walk.

Length

15.1 km

Time

5 hrs 45 mins

.

Grade 5/6

Experienced only

AS 2156.1

Gradient

Short steep hills (3/6)

Quality of track

Rough unclear track (5/6)

Signs

Directional signs along the way (3/6)

Experience Required

Some bushwalking experience recommended (3/6)

Weather

Weather generally has little impact on safety (1/6)

Infrastructure

Limited facilities, not all cliffs are fenced (3/6)

Some more details of this walks Grading

Here is a bit more details explaining grading looking at sections of the walk

Gradient

7km of this walk has gentle hills with occasional steps and another 4.5km has short steep hills. The remaining (3.7km) is flat with no steps.

Quality of track

11km of this walk follows a formed track, with some branches and other obstacles and another 2km follows a smooth and hardened path. Whilst another 1.2km follows a rough unclear track and the remaining 530m follows a clear and well formed track or trail.

Signs

Around 9km of this walk has directional signs at most intersection, whilst the remaining 6km is clearly signposted.

Experience Required

Around 9km of this walk requires no previous bushwalking experience, whilst the remaining 6km requires some bushwalking experience.

weather

This whole walk, 15km is not usually affected by severe weather events (that would unexpectedly impact safety and navigation).

Infrastructure

Around 9km of this walk is close to useful facilities (such as fenced cliffs and seats), whilst the remaining 6km has limited facilities (such as not all cliffs fenced).

Similar walks

A list of walks that share part of the track with the Middle Harbour Creek Loop walk.

Fire Danger

http://new.wildwalks.com/wildwalks_custom/includes/walk_fire_danger.php?walkid=nsw-gariganp-cgnpc
Each park may have its own fire ban, this rating is only valid for today and is based on information from the RFS Please check the RFS Website for more information.

Weather Forest

This walk starts in the Metropolitan weather district always check the formal BOM forecast or pdf before starting your walk.
http://new.wildwalks.com/wildwalks_custom/includes/walk_weather_danger.php?walkid=nsw-gariganp-cgnpc
Forecast snapshot